Mr Stevens says the notion that dividends always grow does not sit easily with the cyclical nature of the resources sector.

"My take is that their concern is to make sure that they continue to have a strong balance sheet in difficult times and that's very much in the interests of the shareholders even if it means the dividend will be lower for awhile," Mr Stevens told the House of Representatives economics committee on Friday.

Rio Tinto overnight dumped its current progressive dividend policy after reporting an annual loss of $US866 million ($A1.22 billion), as a collapse in commodity prices weighed down earnings.